


Blank Slate

by Hyaku



Category: Psycho-Pass
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Bonding, Economics, Emotions, F/M, Memory Loss, Mention of Death, Politics, Psycho Pass - Freeform, Psychology, Romance, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, THERE WILL BE KISSES, bc i'm thirsty for that irie ok, but in the depressing kinda way, crime coefficient, enforcers - Freeform, i'm adding tags as the chapters go, imma try slow burn but i'm not sure, mentalist - Freeform, not exactly following s3 chronology, reader is special, spoilers for psycho pass s3, temma is precious
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-02
Updated: 2019-12-04
Packaged: 2021-02-17 22:49:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21651037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hyaku/pseuds/Hyaku
Summary: You do not remember anything about who you are and what you did, and your memories start the moment you are taken in by Sybil's forces, as an exception. Your Crime Coefficient cannot be measured, yet your hue can. Locked up like an Enforcer, you work as a consultant for the Criminal Investigations Department inside of the Public Security Bureau.In this society where a complex neuro-psychological system rules the people, there exists a mystery that it cannot solve - soul marks. You were to meet the new team of Investigators and Enforcers when fate falls upon you. How will you react to something the system never accounted for in the first place ?
Relationships: Kazumichi Irie x Reader, Kazumichi Irie x You, Kazumichi Irie/Reader, Kazumichi Irie/You
Comments: 4
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I couldn't find any fics with my baby Irie so... Here's my try at writing one.  
> It will be bad, since i don't know how to write anymore, but here is my attempt at *plot*. Yeah, that and two stupid cliché ideas fused together because why not ? Hope you enjoy !

You woke up to a voice in your room. It was your AI assistant, like everybody had nowadays.

« It’s 7 o’clock and we are Monday, your hue is Coral Pink and the weather will be sunny today ! »

Not that it mattered very much to you, since you couldn’t really go out.

« You have an appointment at 8 o’clock today with Division 1, in the Public Security Bureau’s offices. Don’t be late ! » the voice chirped again.

You sat up and rubbed your eyes to get most of the fatigue out. You weren’t used to getting up this early. At least, not anymore. It’s been a while since you’ve been sollicited by the Bureau, even though you were living inside the NONA tower. Jumping out of bed, you remove your clothes and proceed to take a shower to further clear your mind.

« Your energetic intake yesterday was 2000 kilocalories. I recommend a breakfast adding up to 280 kilocalories ! »

« Make it 300 » you mumble, rubbing your scalp with shampoo. « And i want eggs, bacon, salad, french toast flavours in it. And coffee »

If your assistant could’ve judged you, they would have. You knew you needed to eat something solid before going to meet with the inspectors and whatnot. Some cases were nastier than others, and even though you doubted to be consulted that early on, it never hurt to be prepared. You had encountered a few unpleasant surprises before.

You ate your machine-made breakfast while still drying your hair and body, then went up to the mirror to dress up. There, you saw the bandaid covering your soul mark was peeling off. With a sigh, you rip it off neatly and fetch a new one, your eyes barely lingering on the name there. You didn’t really… care for it. As far as you remember you always had it, on the left side of your torso, on your ribs. Soul marks were not something Sybil could explain, yet it had to deal with them, because it couldn’t get rid of them.

Numerous studies had shown that Psycho-Passes could affect each other via soul marks, and deteriorate. Other studies showed that soulmates that were together had lighter hues, and could recover from clouded Psycho-Passes. So all in all, Sibyl recommended you find your soulmate, and there were a few methods to do so. You could search their name, since it was written onto you. They could also make a check to see if two people’s hues followed the same patterns, but considering area stress and about a ton other factors, it wasn’t a reliable way.

You hadn’t searched for your soulmate, or read any info about them, or even accepted Sybil’s services to find them. You figured it would only hurt you more to know who they were, or weren’t, since you didn’t have the freedom to meet with them.

You covered the name with another bandaid, the cream color a bit off from your skin. You didn’t need to cover it, but you felt better not having someone’s name branded there, like you belonged to them. But even with it covered, you knew what name it was. It had been impossible for you to evade the sight of your own body for so long, and when you caved in and read, you only felt about as lost as before. It was just a name. It’s not like you could guess what type of person was behind it.

The clock showed it was 10 minutes before your appointed meeting, so you dressed up quickly in a pair of thighs, formal shorts, a dress shirt and a vest. Right before exiting, you slipped inside a pair of black combat boots. The door slided, locked behind you and you headed towards the upper floors, where the meeting was held.

* * *

You arrived in the office, and everybody was there, or at least you assumed so. You were 7 in total so there must have been 4 Enforcers, and 2 inspectors. Excluding Karanomori Shion, whom you already knew, and Shimotsuki Mika the chief inspector. You greeted everybody with a curt nod, bracing yourself for the exclusion, and reminding yourself to not get attached to any one of them, especially the Enforcers. They had a bad tendency to get killed here, and you didn’t want to relive that. You had seen a few other generations of the division one staff, and only a few left unscathed, if you could even call it that way.

“Now that everybody’s here, I’d like to present myself and my colleague. His name is Kei Mikhail Ignatov, and I’m Arata Shindo. We’re very excited to work with you !”

The shorter of the two men was the one who spoke, his yellowish eyes glittering underneath his fluffy brown hair. He looked so… innocent. The other inspector named Kei was taller, sported a short cut of black hair and felt definitely colder… Especially with those blue eyes. What an odd duo, you thought to yourself. 

The Enforcers then decided to say their names. The only other woman from the lot was Kisaragi Mao, and the timid-looking red haired boy stuttered out a “Hinakawa Sho, pleasure to meet you”. The older, white-haired man said he was Todoroki Temma, and pointed his thumb toward a grumpy-looking tall man with a goatee and an earring. You already felt like these two were troublemakers, and you sighed internally.

“And this guy’s name is Kazumichi Irie”

What

A loud buzzing noise had overcome everything else when you heard the name. Your mind was reeling, you knew that name, you knew that name ! You felt engulfed in a fog, everything veiled around you but that, and that loud, shrill sound in your ears. Heat rushed to your head, numbness to your body, and a physical pang of pain to your gut.

All the members of the first division were looking at you, expecting you to maybe say your name and present yourself, but you were too stunned to do so. Simultaneously, their watches activated and warned them.

“Attention, a hue is degrading quickly in your vicinity. It has exceeded authorized values. Please take action.”

The ringing in your ears became unbearable, and with a quick “excuse me” you rushed out of the office towards your room.

A few instants later, a call came in from Karanomori to one of the inspectors, and addressed everybody present.

“Sorry about that, she’s a bit special. I’ll do the presentations for her since she couldn’t.”

She pitched in your name with a drag of her cigarette.

“The alert is normal, as I said, she’s a bit weird. She’ll tell you more if she want to, but basically she’s confined like Enforcers are. She’s not a criminal per se, but her Crime Coefficient cannot be measured.”

Eyes widened in the room at that revelation.

“Her hue can be measured, as indicated by the alert, but it fluctuates a lot and usually settles in the clear tones, so no worries. She’s just an oddball and Sybil decided to keep her close because of that. She also has Mentalist abilities, so feel free to ask her for help about your ongoing cases.”

Behind her screen, Shion sighed again. Why were you letting her do all the hard work ? You’d have to repay her for that.

* * *

Back into your room, you frantically undressed and ripped the bandaid you so carefully and casually applied earlier, this time scrutinizing your mark in the mirror. Studying each letter, you compared it to the name you were just given and there was no doubt left. It was the same name. Fear, dread and anguish washed over you as the information settled in, like a stone in your gut.

“Of all people he had to be an Enforcer, of all people he had to be an Enforcer !”

You held your head in your hands and wanted to curl into a ball. Way to make first impressions too…

Feeling a bit cold, you put on the oversized sweater you wore during the weekend and laid on your bed, retracting under the covers. Why now ? Who is he ? Did you really want to know ? A myriad of questions rushed into your mind, until you managed to calm down a bit and popped your head back outside of the confines of your duvet. You checked your hue and yep, it was definitely darker. You let out a sigh and thought about the whole situation. What a shock, to hear that name out of all of names. As if sensing your unease, the marking on your ribs itched a bit, reminding itself to you in a way it had never before.

Your watch buzzed and you took the call, it was from Shion.

“What are you doing ? I had to present you to the new inspectors myself. God, what happened ?”

“Yeah sorry, I was feeling kinda shy meeting the new team” you lied “I’ll tell them I’m sorry tomorrow”

“Tomorrow ?!” Shion’s voice screeched at you “There is a case today, and if you’re not in my lab in 30 minutes to hear about it I’ll send someone drag you there !”

Gosh, she wasn’t cutting you any slack.

“Please ? I’d risk clouding their hues with mine” you pleaded, showing the crimson indicator for your mental state. The analyst narrowed her eyes.

“You know as well as I do that your hue fluctuates a lot because of your emotions. So either you tell me what was really the problem” she took a drag of her cigarette “or it was just a temporary stress and you’ll handle just fine in 30 minutes” she ended with a smile.

Defeated, you grumbled an “Okay” and ended the call. You didn’t really have a choice, did you ? You didn’t want to tell anyone about your soulmate. You didn’t even want to admit it yourself ! But for the sake of Shion and the trouble you had given her all those past years and today, you crawled out of your bed and prepared to go out, again.


	2. Chapter 2

The situation you were in felt definitely awkward. You were in Shion’s lab, along with the rest of the team, where they stared at you like you were some kind of zoo animal. You had managed to get ready in time, and the analyst was grinning at her desk. She was ruthless.

« Sorry about earlier » you said, feeling ashamed of yourself « I’m not very good around people »

You fidgeted around a bit.

« Shion told me she gave you all the info, but i’d like to present myself officially. My name is [your name] and i’m pleased to meet you ! » you gave it your best smile.

As silence greeted your words, you felt heat creep up your face, until a small laugh broke the stillness and stiffness of the atmosphere. It was Inspector Shindo, chortling, then followed by Ignatov’s discreet snicker, then Kisaragi’s smile, Todoroki’s grumpy yet more relaxed expression and Kazumichi’s hearty laugh. Your ribs tingled again when you heard his voice, and at this point you didn't know if you were getting flustered because of awkwardness or because of that feeling that seemed linked to _him._

Shion was smoking, as usual, and she flashed you a more sincere grin through the dim lit lab and the puff she had exhaled. She knew how hard it had become for you to make bonds, any bond. You sighed internally as she mistook your earlier agitation for social nervousness. It would be a lot more difficult to explain that you fled because you met your fucking soulmate, out of all people.

« It’s okay, Karanomori told us about you. You’ve been here for a long time, right ? » Shindo mused, his eyes glittering without any mischief in the blue light of the lab’s screens.

You felt he knew something about you, or maybe he guessed it. You took a deep breath, it didn’t matter if you told them or not, it wasn’t a secret, Shion already told them, and in the worst case scenario they were going to die or end up locked up like you… So really, there was no issue.

You proceeded to explain how you wound up as a glorified prisoner of NONA tower. As far as you remembered, you _didn’t_ remember anything. Anything about you was wiped out of your memories, like if somebody had replaced your brain with a blank slate. You knew how things worked, how the world worked, but you felt like you were born already adult without any prior experience. It was funny, you recalled, how the first thing you saw when « waking up » was Shion looking more than mildly annoyed at you, saying that she didn’t have time for any of this, and how she was the one to keep an eye on you while she tried to understand what had happened. And at the time, she hadn’t even checked for your Crime Coefficient, so you must’ve imagined how much it added to her headache.

« So, Karanomori is kind of my babysitter here, please be kind with her ! » you finished your story with a sheepish smile. On the other end of the room, Shion smiled wearily but you knew she didn’t mind.

« Give me a break ! I’ve had to pamper you at least for 5 years ! » she retorted, then swiveled back to her screens and, squashing her cigarette butt on her already overflowing ashtray, she started talking about the case.

You were quickly briefed about what happened the day before, since you weren't really allowed to leave the tower on your own and had no formation like the Enforcers, you weren't able to join them on the crime scene. Not that you minded, you didn't exactly _want_ to see dead bodies on a daily basis. There was this drone crash that seemed orchestrated by a series of unfortunate events, a certain man named Rick Fellows that was dead because of it, and a company official that filed a complaint and evaded questionning. 

You didn't like that at all. You hated everything that was politics-related because it tended to get overly complicated, and it seemed to be that kind of case. When Inspector Shindo started to explain the subprimes to the team, you pinched the bridge of your nose and sighed. You also had a particular aversion for anything finance or economics related, because it got overly complicated too. Just your lucky day...

The meeting hopefully ended without you getting a raging headache, so that was nice. Everybody was assigned a mission and you stayed there on standby, watching as everybody left. As the doors closed shut, Shion looked back at you and grinned

"See, it wasn't that bad, right ?"

"Yeah, yeah..." you made a motion with your hand "Can you tell me more about that Yonehara guy ? I could maybe try and find some lead about him while everybody else is working" 

"You should've asked the Inspectors first !" she reproached, but nevertheless sent you his official file, as well as his hue and Crime Coefficient report.

You thanked her, and got back to your room to investigate. You were on your couch, computer on your lap and you reviewed a few videos there were of the man. Fast forwarding, pausing and looking at his expressions, you settled on one and closed your eyes. How did this guy made you feel ? Therefore, how did _he_ feel ? Patterns emerged under your eyelids and swirled around, abstract renditions of emotions. The swirls became more violent and aggressive, but the colors remained the same, until the flow stilled and the colors grew muddy.

You opened your eyes back up and jotted notes quickly on your laptop. Yonehara used aggressivity to protect himself, when he felt threatened. His mood tended to swing wildly and he was bad at hiding it, often between apparent anger and despair. He didn't feel like a restless guy, but there was something that was making him that way, not being able to be happy or contempt, or even at peace. Stripped of his anger, he became very fragile - maybe that could lead to him being manipulated or easily pressured. 

It wasn't very substantial, but that's all you could take from the videos and complaint he filed. Stretching a bit and hearing your bones pop, you decide to call the Inspectors to give them that bit of insight. You had a feeling Shindo was miles ahead of you, but you wanted to show them you weren't useless. Ignatov answered first, you resumed what you had deduced and were about to send him the meager file when he said

"We already received an alert about his Psycho-Pass exceeding authorized levels in a forbidden zone, we're on his track"

"Shit" you mumble under your breath, mind rushing "I think it was a trap for him about as much as for you, Inspectors"

There were too many factors that didn't sound right, Yonehara wasn't the kind to go there of his own accord. It was despair that pushed him there, and there was surely someone that gave the final nudge.

"Don't worry, Kazumichi seems to know Myogadani. We'll call you if we need more insight but it's a pretty hands-on case right now" Ignatov replied before ending the call.

You closed the little window emanating from your watch and laid your hands back on the touch surface of your laptop. Your hands were sweaty, gross. You knew you had to be quicker next time, but being on point after not actively practicing your skills made your chest swell with pride. You were worried about the team, though... You didn't know Myogadani at all, but since it was a forbidden zone you had somewhat of an idea of what could build up there. Gangs. And judging from Kazumichi's openly defiant demeanor towards authority, and Ignatov's statement about him knowing the place, it was easy to deduce that he must have been involved in one of them at some point. You don't become an Enforcer for nothing, after all.

Thinking about him had your mark itch again on your ribs, and you scratched it but to no avail. The itch seemed embedded under your skin, and it made you feel uneasy. Was it worry for him ? Now that you had met him, were you forced to cope with that link between you and him forever ? What would happen if he... died ? You heard that losing a soulmate, even if you weren't close to them, hurt like hell. Having so little control about something that seemed so big wasn't a great feeling.

You sighed heavily, put away your laptop and laid on the couch, staring at the dark ceiling above you. 

For some reason, you felt you were going to have a hard time staying away from Division 1 this time.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit longer than i expected, i kinda messed up my own chronology of the events but i hope it's still okay. I really want to get to writing the next chapter too !

Today’s affair was about a man named Tsuchiya Kojo, who apparently committed suicide by jumping from his hotel room. He was there for therapy, since the wealthier part of the population preferred luxurious hotels to regular treatment centers. This time around, you weren’t with the team on-site, but you were in constant communication with them, as they investigated the room and saw the broken television, the locked doors and finally, the window that had been snapped off. You got to hear how Inspector Shindo identified there were some sorts of guards in front of the door, preventing Tsuchiya from getting out, from the footprints in the plush carpeting of the hallway. It wasn’t hard to guess that the deceased might not have been there of his own will, but rather _detained_.

You were in line with Kisaragi, who methodically said what clues they had found and what they were doing. The scenario got a bit erratic when Shindo almost jumped out of the hingeless window, barely caught by Ignatov. You felt that the Enforcer you were talking with did not understand fully the methods of the new Inspectors, but that she had decided to accept them. She was a stern, not very talkative individual, that had put very clear boundaries between her personal and professional life, not like Todoroki or Kazumichi. That did not mean the latter had no secrets, but Kisaragi had put up walls, and they were extremely tangible. It gave her an unreachable aura, which was why you had a bit of trouble keeping the conversation up with her, reminding her you were _still_ listening to her by humming or saying “okay”.

When they were done at the hotel, you were asked to do a quick personality check on the gubernatorial candidates, Komiya Karina and “Herakles”. In the meantime, the Inspectors split up and went to interview the two potential suspects. While they were getting to their respective rendez-vous, you briefed the team about Komiya and Yakushiji.

Yakushiji Kosuke was an ex-fighter, partaking in human vs machine matches that were approved by Sybil. His motto was “a healthy mind in a healthy body”, and that was because he was genetically engineered to be a perfect athlete. Using eugenics, Yakushiji was supposed to have a set of perfect genes, thus making his Psycho-Pass clear.

Looking at the man, you also could conclude that he was the closest thing to a dumb but strong boy. He was a puppet, a front for his party to then do what they wanted, he was just there to sell a dream. “Therefore” you mused “I think his secretary or assistant will be the one to possess all the info, and they should be protective”. Considering the man’s past as an official fighter, you evocated the possibility of him having a strong sense of honor and responsibility as well as outwards enthusiasm, considering how well his Psycho-Pass fared. People that don’t worry for themselves are able to care for others.

Komiya, on the other hand, was the one holding the reins. She was a façade, but she also had a mind of her own. During the interview, there were chances that she wouldn’t hand over any info and that it would be her assistant that could possibly let something slip, but most likely because of body language. Komiya Karina was an idol, so she had mastered holding her attitude under pressure. It would be useless to try and pry information forcefully from her.

Shindo and Ignatov thanked you for your input and ended the call.

* * *

The interviews went pretty much as expected. You couldn’t go wrong with analyzing simple personality patterns like that, politicians were archetypes after all. It was just an issue of finding who they were, and who were they _with_. Looking at somebody’s entourage could tell you a good deal about that person, and professional contacts were no exceptions, especially when it was your assistant that you had to meet with on a day-to-day basis.

As the Inspectors and Enforcers came back to their offices, you received a message from Shion telling you there was a welcoming party for Shindo and Ignatov, held in the Enforcer’s lounge area. You tensed up a bit, the place holding some painful memories for you, but told the analyst you were coming for a few drinks anyways.

So much for _not_ getting attached…

You had a bit of time before the party, so you decided to clean your room a bit, and take a shower. Since you had been working from your room, it was a bit messy and you were still in pajamas. Oops. The perks and downsides of working from home, you joked internally.

The hot water eased some of the tension accumulated by your definitely bad posture, and you felt refreshed and energized as you exited the bathroom in a cloud of steam. You dressed up in an oversized, soft knitted shirt, corduroy shorts, thighs, and fluffy cream-colored boots you never wore because they weren’t formal enough and you feared ruining them. Feeling decently pretty for an afterwork meeting, you turned off the lights to your flat and exited to the hall.

The lounge area was on the same floor as yours, since it was an Enforcer-only area. You had yet to meet any of your colleagues there, though… Probably because you spent most of your time inside, you were something of an hermit. As the door slid open in front of you, you could see that everybody was already there and chatting. Even Hinakawa looked like he was having a good time, once he got past his crippling shyness. You took a seat on the leather couch and poured yourself a drink, focusing on the tiny bubbles inside your glass. Taking a sip, you noticed Todoroki was looking a bit dejected next to you. He still had that grumpiness about him, but there was a tinge of sadness to his posture expression too. You didn’t know how to tackle the subject though, but you had an idea of how to get past his hardboiled shell.

“So, how did it go with Yakushiji ? Was he nice ?” you asked him with a smile. He looked back at you and sighed, nothing but fatigue gracing his features.

“I don’t like all this political stuff. The guy is being manipulated and his assistant held onto information like a vice” he grumbled.

“Yes but what about Herakles ? I’ve heard he was supposed to be a perfect athlete or something”

You felt Todoroki tense up a bit.

“Aren’t you supposed to already know what he’s like ? You were the one to brief us about him”

Ah, aggression. You were expecting it though.

“Yeah, but I could be wrong too. May I ask again : what is _your_ opinion about him ?”

You were intent of peeling all the layers the gruff old man had, until he showed his true nature. You waited patiently for him to answer, taking another sip from your glass.

“I guess he was nice” he finally conceded “I think he felt something about what happened during the interview and wanted to cheer me up or whatnot…” his voice got lower on the last part.

“Outwards empathy, told ya !” you nudged him with a grin, and you felt the older man loosen up a bit more.

“But what happened then ? Did somebody hit you ?” you asked again, ridding your voice of any mischief so that he understood you were _listening_ to him.

There, you felt his shell about to crack as he rubbed the back of his head, ruffling his thinning grey-white hair. He stared at his almost empty glass, and without looking up he finally opened up.

“You must have heard of the Todoroki family; they try to breed “perfect” people by gene-editing”. You listened attentively, encouraging him silently to continue.

“My brother and father were there, they must have been affiliated to the eugenics campaign Yakushiji is leading. They resent me for not having perfect genes and they consider me a shame to their family”

You winced at the self-inflicted exclusion Todoroki voiced there. You were right about him hiding his pain and bitterness under a cynical and detached front.

“They reacted as I expected when they saw me, but Yakushiji encouraged me to love myself and other nonsense”

When he said that, you understood that Temma was, in some way, still the child accused by his parents and the rejection they inflicted him still hurt him deeply. The unconditional support Yakushiji had thrown at him had startled him, and he didn’t know how to process it other than retracting into his usual grumpy self. Considering his family’s objective, he was surely blamed solely for existing, and still carried that weight around.

“You should listen to him, Temma” you said while smiling, using his first name as a way to distinguish him from the ones that hurt him, the Todoroki. “You know, there is a saying that we aren’t born human but that we become human. That’s because the key to our evolution is learning and adapting. Our brains change at every stage of our life, and therefore our identities do too.”

He was looking at you, a little puzzled.

“That means it’s not too late to become someone you’re proud of. For yourself, I mean, not for anybody else.”

In the end, the only one person you have to bear with the most is yourself, so better make it agreeable.

Temma smiled, and even though his stare was still sad and thoughtful, you knew it had lifted some weight off his shoulders just talking about it with someone. Someone that listened to him and thought about his interests, not theirs.

It was getting a bit late, so you bid him goodbye and rose to your feet, only to stumble and wobble quite pitifully. Kazumichi, who had just lost his game of billiard, helped you restore your balance and asked

“You okay ? Do you want me to accompany you back to your room ?”

Fuck.

“It’s okay” you smiled while trying to repress your resounding heartbeats “It’s not far away and I just drank two glasses or something”

But as you took another step towards the stairs, the room started to sway and you almost fell to the ground.

“Yeah sure, now I’m definitely coming with you” he chuckles, lending you an arm so that you can rest on it.

Fuck fuck fuck.

The trip back to your room was pretty uneventful, you hadn’t lied when you told him it wasn’t too long a way back there. You didn’t know if you were getting hot because of the alcohol, or because Kazumichi was so close to you. You could hear your heart in your ears, and you wished he couldn’t feel your trembling hands. Or maybe he thought it was because you were intoxicated, and you were okay with that.

“So, isn’t it hard for you to be treated like a latent criminal? Even though your Crime Coefficient can’t be measured ?”

The guy hadn’t heard about tact it seemed. Luckily for him, you were in a good mood and a rather compliant person, so you obliged.

“Latent criminals haven’t done any crime either, so it would be unfair for everybody. But it’s not hard, no.”

You had reached your door and you wobbled to it, unclasping your hand from Kazumichi’s arm and then turned to face him again.

“I have no memories of what life is outside of here, so I don’t have any reference of how it is to be free.”

You felt his sadness wash over you.

“But really, I’m treated well, I can access anything I want or need, and Shion is pretty cool” you grinned.

“Thank you for accompanying me back to-“

You spinned on your heels and were about to open your door when you tripped – _again_. The sliding doors identified you and opened as you were falling, promising a painful reception on the back of your head. You braced for the impact when you felt a sharp tug on your shoulder. You opened your eyes and realized that Kazumichi had caught your hand in his, preventing you from smashing your skull on the hard floor of your doorway.

At the contact, you felt a jolt of electricity and heat rush through your arm and nestle right under your heart, in your ribs, right where your soulmark was. His hand felt large and warm on yours, and your mind suddenly flashed with suggestions of them roaming your body, embracing you tightly. The idea of him was _dizzying_ , and you struggled to keep your grasp on reality.

Blushing profusely, you apologized to him as he pulled you back up. You were making a fool of yourself but he didn’t seem to mind, or maybe notice.

Cocking his head to the side, he flashed you a dazzling grin and you couldn’t help but notice the tips of his ears were red.

“Be careful, okay ?”

“Yeah, thank you… I’m sorry, I really must’ve drunk too much” you joked lightly while passing the threshold of your flat and hearing the doors slide shut behind you.

When you were finally alone in your obscured entranceway, you fell to your knees and hid your reddening face in your hands.

“HE KNOWS”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought i had misestimated my chronology but this chapter ended up being so descriptive and long ! I was worried it would be too short compared to the previous one but nope. I hope you enjoy =w=  
> Finally a bit of action :eyes:

The next day, you were put on standby by the Inspectors. They were going to see somebody named Enomiya, an influencial gang leader in Myogadani. Kazumichi was leading them there, since he had partaken in underground fighting before being an Enforcer.

You were laying in your bed, eyes staring at the dark ceiling, ears ringing from waking up so suddenly. Your soul mark was pulsating against your ribs, like it was its own little heart dedicated to Kazumichi Irie. You were drenched in sweat, a myriad of sensations coursing through your body and emanating from the spot on the left of your chest. The words felt hot under your fingers, trembling slightly from what felt like an adrenalin aftershock.

Since Kazumichi and you had touched, the mark had woken up and you could _feel_ things being passed over by the invisible link tying you to him, much to your dismay. It was like a storm of emotions and sensations, something you were scared to delve into because of how violent it looked. And this storm was inside of you.

Trying to focus a bit, you remembered that Kazumichi was on a mission today, leading the team to his former gang leader Enomiya, who resided in the forbidden district named Myogadani. Maybe that was why you were feeling such a wide array of sensations from him.

“What an idiot” you thought and flopped back on your belly, feeling a bit queasy but more awake than moments before.

You were preparing yourself a less than healthy breakfast when you felt your gut sway and had to sit down to overcome the wave of nausea that had come upon you. The mark was tingling again and you knew this was somewhat how Kazumichi was feeling right now. Anguish, fear, anger ? Emotions are never simple and often come together to create more nuanced feelings. It was your turn to worry. Maybe something had gone sour during the investigation ?

You idly put your hand over the mark for a few instants, a vain attempt to muffle the parasitic feelings your soulmate was sending you, when you felt the mark heat up and a subsiding burn in the palm of your hand. You yelped and rushed to run cold water over it, but it was doing nothing to soothe the pain.

What the fuck was Kazumichi doing ?!

Feeling fed up by the emotional and now physical onslaught you were subjected to, you went back to your bed and fell face first in it, then yelled a short, irritated scream into your pillow. It was only a while later that you felt the pain in your hand recede to a dull throb, meaning that Kazumichi had dealt with his issue.

Every day for the next week you had to endure the alien feeling of another’s emotions inside of you. Fear, anger, satisfaction, sometimes arousal, the link gave you a taste of everything your soulmate was feeling, at any hour of the day. Your shade had settled to a reddish brown, and you knew the chaos in your head was bound to take a toll on you.

* * *

One morning you woke up with a head-splitting migraine, your head pounding in pain down to your neck and your shoulders. Every movement made you wince and you gave up the idea of going out of bed. You closed your eyes for a while, hoping that the pain would recede a bit, but to no avail. You decided to call Shion to tell her you wouldn’t be able to work today, lifting your wrist to reach your watch when the intercom of your flat rang. Surprised, you looked at the info displayed by the glowing holographic panel in front of your eyes. It was Kazumichi. You put a hand on your face and sighed, while telling your household AI to open the door for him.

“What the fuck are you doing here ?” you grumbled, still shielding your eyes from the light coming from your open door.

“Are you okay ?” he retorted, hastily removing his shoes and walking up to your bed.

“Yeah, I’ve got a really bad headache. I think my neck is stuck and my shoulders hurt too. I was gonna call Shion to tell her I can’t work today.”

You don’t know why you told him this much, everything gushing out of your mouth before you had a chance to think about it. Maybe you were too tired and in pain to care about that whole soulmate ordeal.

“I’ll do it” he said, then kneeled on your bed and motioned at you “Get up”

“What ? I told you I was-“

“That’s why I’m telling you to get up” he repeated, looking sternly at you “I know how to ease up that stuff”

You were a bit dumbfounded. Was he really offering you a massage out of the blue ? You thanked your room for being so obscure and rose up from under your duvet. You only wore a loose tank top and pajama shorts, so you hoped it wouldn’t reveal too much.

Your thoughts were quickly brought back to reality as you grimaced at the pain sitting up had caused in your back and shoulders, up to the base of your skull. Kazumichi had sat on your bed and you turned your back to him, folding your legs as best as you could.

“Like that ?” you asked timidly, feeling the air he displaced as he moved brush onto your skin.

You felt his large hands press on your shoulders and start to unwind the hellish tension that had gathered up there, and you repressed a whimper. God, it hurted. But at the same time, the touch was creating a warmth on your skin and little sparks in your gut, making the process a bit more agreeable. Your heart was picking up the pace, as you realized the proximity and atmosphere between the two of you.

“How did you know ?”

“I felt it, through the bond”

“So you knew we were soulmates…”

“Yeah, when Shion told us your name”

“How come you didn’t react ?!”

He chuckled in a low voice.

“What, did you expect me to run away like you did when hearing my name ?”

“I’m sorry…”

Silence greeted your words as your heart kept beating faster.

“I’m scared”

His rough thumbs dragged against your neck, drawing two blazing lines up to the base of your skull and pressing little circles there, making you arch your head back into his hands. As the massage continued, the pain slowly receded to make place for all the little tingling sensations his touch was eliciting from your skin, making you aware of a lot more than you were before. The sound of his shirt rubbing on him as he moved his arms, his breath fanning over your back, the way he laid his fingers around your throat as he eased the tension at the nape of your neck. Every little brush of his fingertips sparked something in your guts, and you felt your skin grow hotter under his ministrations. As he moved his hands to rub your shoulders once more, his fingers glided from your neck to a sensitive patch of skin that almost made you _moan_. You bit your bottom lip, stifling the sound before it had a chance to get out, but Kazumichi had sensed you tense up.

He didn’t put his hands on your back again, so you slowly turned to face him, surprisingly not feeling anymore pain as you moved. You decided to take a good look at the man in front of you, since you had evaded the issue and decided to ignore it altogether when you learned he was your soulmate.

He was tall, looming over you even though he was a bit hunched. He had a short mop of brown hair on top of a buzzcut, as well as amber eyes. Your gaze drifting down, you appreciated the curve of his jaw, strong yet smooth, and noticed he wore a silver earring on one lobe. He sported a goatee beneath lips that seemed deliciously pouty, and once again you thanked the skies that your flat was so dimly lit, so that he couldn’t see your embarrassment at that realization. Following his neck, you saw he was wearing his usual shirt, pants and vest combo, albeit a bit more mussed up than usual. You had to admit that he was handsome, in a bad boy, rugged kind of way. Even though he looked relatively thin, he was pretty tall and his neck was thick, suggesting he did pack some muscle under his clothes. You gulped audibly, trying to refrain your brain from imagining extravagant things about the man seated on your bed, and that’s when you became conscious that if you had been studying him, Kazumichi had been studying you too. Your eyes met briefly with his, and you felt your gut jolt again.

The silence became suddenly way heavier in the room, almost suffocating you. You fumbled with your hands, averting your gaze from him altogether and staring at your bare thighs. That’s when his words cut through the atmosphere like a knife.

“Can I see it ?”

He hadn’t spoken loudly, but his voice felt like a physical blow, menacing of making you topple over. Your mind was fuzzy, shocked, not really understanding what he meant yet knowing there was only one thing he could talk about.

“What… ?” you murmured, keeping your eyes down yet feeling a variety of manifestations of anxiousness inside your body, and maybe a tinge of expectation.

“Your mark” he gently responded, inching just a tiny bit closer to you, making his weight shift on your bed.

Your mind was racing furiously as you tried to form words or coherent sentences to explain that the words he so wanted to see were in an intimate place. He scooted a bit closer to you, his knee now grazing yours and making it feel oddly warm, making you want him to press against you more. Feeling his breath near your face, you looked up at him and saw the expectant look in his eyes, one of trust and utter fragility. Getting frustrated with yourself, you grabbed his hand and guided it to your ribs, to the mark, blushing furiously. The words were chanting and pulsating under his light touch, and you mumbled something along the lines of “Go ahead, but don’t pull my shirt too high”, one of your hands pressing on your breasts to keep the fabric put.

He gently tugged your shirt up, inch by inch, his hand resting on the side of your ribs lightly, almost hovering over your skin. You instinctively arched away from him, resting on your arm to not fall back, but he continued his movements slowly, carefully. Your breaths were heavy as more and more of your skin got exposed to the cooler air of your room, only to be contrasted by the heat emanating from Kazumichi and your mark. Finally, the thin fabric unveiled the dark words etched into your skin, peeking from in between your ribs back at your soulmate. His hand touched the one on your chest briefly, and you grabbed onto the bunched-up fabric like an anchor. He then brought his face closer to your mark, his breath fanning onto your torso and making you flinch. Your arm was tired from supporting all your weight and you would have fallen back if Kazumichi’s left hand hadn’t snaked to your back to keep you propped up. You were almost trembling from expectation when his fingertips brushed gently over your mark, setting it ablaze. He traced the characters from his own name slowly, minutely, each stroke making the heat in your gut spread like wildfire to your whole body. You felt weak, utterly abandoned as he poked and prodded at the mark, each touch sparking a little more pleasure into you, making you crave a bit more of him. He seemed too absorbed to notice the state of surrender you were in until his thumb brushed roughly on your ribs and you couldn’t repress the cry of pleasure that escaped your lips. You were heaving a bit when he slowly pulled your top down again and retracted his hand from your back, making sure you weren’t going to fall over anymore.

The atmosphere was thick and warm in your room now, the air doing nothing to tone down the blazing fire under your skin. Piecing back up your brain that seemed to have been blown away by Kazumichi, you asked timidly, no more than a whisper.

“Can I see yours too ?”

You heard the ruffling of cotton fabric as you saw Kazumichi loosen his tie and remove it, then start to unbutton his shirt. The sight made you gulp and sent more jolts between your thighs, which you pressed together in an effort to suppress the urges building up inside you. A few buttons of his shirt were undone, and he tugged on one side of the garment to reveal more of his skin. And there you saw it, in your dimly lit room, your name on his body. The characters were bold and black, etched atop his left collarbone. You leaned closer to him, detailing all the curves and points of the mark, fingers rising to meet the flesh, as to confirm it was really there. When you softly touched the mark, you felt something tug at you through your bond, like dull yet teasing pleasure. You traced gently each character, wondering how would your name sound if Kazumichi pronounced it, and the words pulsed again, sending more waves of sensations through you. The more you touched his skin, the more you felt him unravel under your fingers, through the bond between you and him. He was now breathing heavily, his eyes were glazed over and lidded, a trickle of sweat coursing from his neck to his collarbone. You realized your caresses had him become undone before your eyes just as you had in his arms a few moments prior, and you muttered his name in awe.

“Kazumichi…”

Panting a bit, he met your eyes and let out a murmur in response.

“Irie… Please call me Irie”

You mouthed his name softly, bending over to his ear and feeling the syllables roll off your tongue as pleasure _exploded_ through your bond and Irie shuddered under you. It was intoxicating, the feeling of the other’s pleasure coursing through you, seeing him at your mercy from a few touches and a whisper. It was also terrifying to know he could do the same to you, at any moment, because of the bond. As you glazed over his mark one last time with the tip of your fingers, you heard him sigh out your first name, breath fanning over your ear and neck. Your whole body trembled as you took in the effects of his _voice_ , his low, seductive voice right next to your ear saying your name like he’s desperate and it’s the only thing to keep him _sane_. You stayed a few moments more like this, not touching his mark, just leaning close to him, processing the powerful sensations you two had drawn out of each other.

You then tugged at his shirt to cover his mark again, albeit a bit regretfully. You gently buttoned his shirt up again as you felt his breathing calm down and he regained his composure.

“You should give me access to your place”

“Say what ?”

“You know, in case you’re hurt again. In case of emergency, that way I can help you” he explained a bit awkwardly. “I can do the same for you too, my room isn’t far away”

“Okay, I guess. It wouldn’t be fair to let you suffer through unnecessary pain”

“We’re in this together, so we might as well make the best of it” he said softly.

You scoffed.

“You’re saying this as if we were a thing”

“We’re soulmates, so of course we’re a thing, whether you want it or not” he replied, matter of factly. “I heard that losing a soulmate hurts like shit, even if you’re not close or anything. I kinda don’t want that to happen”

You blushed a bit at your own immaturity. Of course you had to deal with it together, but you were also uneasy at sharing your life with someone you didn’t know. Especially when they had this much power over your body. He didn’t mean you were a couple, he meant that you had a bond that affected both of you greatly, and you had to manage that.

“Yeah, me neither. Try not to get killed, Enforcer” you joked while lightly punching his shoulder.

He smiled back at you, a mix of weariness, trust and melancholy in his eyes. The sensations you had shared left you both worn out, and there was still a lot of work to do in your relationship.

“Get back to bed, I’ll tell Karanomori about you” he got up and started walking towards the door.

“What ? I can work now, it doesn’t hurt anymore !”

“And get stuck again ? No thanks, I don’t want to relive this” he laughed “So give it a good rest, okay ?”

You were in this together, you thought again. You had to think about how he would feel too.

Kazumichi was putting his shoes back on in your entryway when you called out for him.

“Irie ?”

“Yeah ?”

“Thank you”

His broad shoulders were like a black shadow against the bright light pouring from the hallway, almost creeping up to your bed and casting long dark lines on the floor.

“No worries”

And the door shut again behind him.

You didn’t know what had compelled you to open up to him like this, but as you laid back down onto your bed and under the covers, his words echoed in your head.

“We’re in this together”.


End file.
